For a long time, once users decided on their Gmail username — which most users dread at a later stage in life — it was permanent. While Google allowed email changes for accounts tied to third-party addresses, native Gmail users were excluded, leaving many locked into outdated or unprofessional usernames created years earlier.
However, a New Year’s gift from Google could allow us to finally change those dreaded username.
The tech conglomerate is quietly rolling out (only available on Google’s Hindi support page for now) one of the most consequential changes in Gmail’s history: the ability for users to change their “@gmail.com” email address without creating a new account or losing data. The update appears in a recently modified Google Account support page and is described as a feature that is “gradually rolling out” to users worldwide.
The newly updated support documentation explains that users will soon be able to replace their existing Gmail address with a new “@gmail.com” address while keeping the same Google Account. This marks a departure from Google’s previous policy, which explicitly stated that Gmail addresses “usually cannot be changed.” Notably, as you would have seen in the link above, the updated instructions currently appear only on the Hindi version of Google’s support page, suggesting the rollout may begin in India or Hindi-speaking markets before expanding globally. The change was first spotted by users in online tech communities, including the Google Pixel Hub Telegram group.
Under the new system, users will be able to select a new Gmail username while preserving full access to their existing account. Rather than replacing the old address outright, Google will convert the original Gmail address into an alias. Emails sent to both the old and new addresses will arrive in the same inbox, and users will be able to sign in to Google services using either address. All existing data — including Gmail messages, Google Drive files, Photos, contacts, YouTube history, subscriptions, purchases and app integrations — will remain unchanged. From Google’s perspective, this is an identity update rather than an account migration.
Of course, the Silicon Valley giant is imposing several guardrails to prevent abuse or confusion. Once a Gmail address is changed, users will not be able to modify or delete the new address for 12 months. During that period, the original Gmail username cannot be reused to create a new Google Account, as it remains permanently tied to the existing one as an alias. Each account will be allowed to change its Gmail address up to three times, meaning a maximum of four Gmail addresses can be associated with a single account over its lifetime. In some legacy services — such as Google Calendar events created before the change — the old email address may continue to appear temporarily.
This development comes long after a Gmail address has evolved far beyond email — it now functions as a universal digital identity. It anchors access to banking alerts, travel bookings, cloud storage, work tools, government services and countless third-party apps. Thus, for many users, especially those who created Gmail accounts as teenagers or during the early internet era, the inability to update a username became a growing liability. Now, by decoupling a Gmail username from permanent identity lock-in, Google reduces friction across professional communication as well (so the next time you reply to an official email, for example, you won’t have to use the cringe-inducing Gmail address you had picked as a teenager).
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